28
Feb
2006
In America, it is still entirely possible for an organized, committed grassroots effort to create change in a fraction of the time it takes Congress, state legislatures, and local municipalities put together.
Consider the recently formed Minutemen Project - a citizens' vigilance operation monitoring immigration, business, and government. Founded by Jim Gilchrist of California, the group is rapidly expanding across the nation for the specific purpose of informing the public about the enormity of the illegal-immigration problem and its threat to all Americans; to exposing legislators' voting record relative to the issue; and to preventing legislation that exacerbates the crisis.
"The Minutemen Project is not a call to arms, but a call to voices seeking a peaceful and respectable resolve to the chaotic neglect by members of our local, state, and federal governments charged with applying U.S. immigration law," according the Minutmen Project's Web site (http://www.minutemenproject.com).
The Minuteman Project is a volunteer-based organization that gained national prominence last year for organizing a citizen watch along 20 miles of the nation's southwestern border between Arizona and Mexico, to report suspicious activity to authorities. "More than 1,000 volunteers participated in the month-long operation, catching 300-plus individuals engaged in illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States," according to Minuteman Project Illinois chapter spokesperson Roseanne Puledo.
"We don't want to change our laws, or implement new policy," Puledo explained. "We want enforcement of the immigration laws currently on the books. Our goal is to expose the voting records of the legislators on this issue, and to stop proposed legislation, HR4437, that would establish Bush's Guest Worker Amnesty program. We have 14 million legitimate U.S. citizens who are underemployed, and should take priority over illegal aliens who live under the radar while they consume finite resources."
Puledo wants Americans to know that illegal aliens enjoy preferential treatment in many sectors of our economy, such as better loan terms, than those offered to our own veterans. She and her fellow Minutemen consider this unconscionable when viewing the bigger picture.
The Minutemen consider the lack of immigration-law enforcement to be a looming threat to our nation's future economic health and cultural survival. The silence on the part of legislators on this critical issue only demonstrates their collective intimidation, fearing to take decisive action because there is a distinct counter-movement on the part of industry to absorb illegal aliens as cheap labor, with the potential for large voting blocs, and a means to eliminate America's middle class.
Although denounced by politicians in the nation's capital - including President Bush - Minuteman Project volunteers have been praised by overworked Border Patrol agents for their efforts, adhering to a strict policy of nonviolent protest. The group's objection to illegal aliens does not have its basis in racial or ethnic discrimination, but in justice as defined by our nation's law.
No matter how you cut the cards, those entering our borders without going through established channels are committing a crime. Those individuals live here illegally, yet are sheltered by our social, educational, and legal services against prosecution, let alone deportation consequences. In some ways, it is more advantageous to be an illegal resident than an immigrant who has entered legally and become a citizen. (Illegal aliens don't pay taxes, or for medical services or school tuitions, and the list goes on. Yet in some states, citizens who deny illegal aliens access are instead prosecuted.)
"Illegal immigration is bankrupting states along the border, but this is about more than economics - we're placing our national security at risk," said Gilchrist, who along with other Minuteman Project volunteers has come under fire while on patrol and carrying nothing more than binoculars and cell phones.
The Illinois Minutemen Project is reaching out to Quad Cities residents with a presentation on Friday, March 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rock Island VFW on Ninth Street in an effort to start a local chapter. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend, learn, and hopefully participate in holding elected officials accountable to the laws of our land.
"The Minutemen Project is not a call to arms, but a call to voices seeking a peaceful and respectable resolve to the chaotic neglect by members of our local, state, and federal governments charged with applying U.S. immigration law," according the Minutmen Project's Web site (http://www.minutemenproject.com).
The Minuteman Project is a volunteer-based organization that gained national prominence last year for organizing a citizen watch along 20 miles of the nation's southwestern border between Arizona and Mexico, to report suspicious activity to authorities. "More than 1,000 volunteers participated in the month-long operation, catching 300-plus individuals engaged in illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States," according to Minuteman Project Illinois chapter spokesperson Roseanne Puledo.
"We don't want to change our laws, or implement new policy," Puledo explained. "We want enforcement of the immigration laws currently on the books. Our goal is to expose the voting records of the legislators on this issue, and to stop proposed legislation, HR4437, that would establish Bush's Guest Worker Amnesty program. We have 14 million legitimate U.S. citizens who are underemployed, and should take priority over illegal aliens who live under the radar while they consume finite resources."
Puledo wants Americans to know that illegal aliens enjoy preferential treatment in many sectors of our economy, such as better loan terms, than those offered to our own veterans. She and her fellow Minutemen consider this unconscionable when viewing the bigger picture.
The Minutemen consider the lack of immigration-law enforcement to be a looming threat to our nation's future economic health and cultural survival. The silence on the part of legislators on this critical issue only demonstrates their collective intimidation, fearing to take decisive action because there is a distinct counter-movement on the part of industry to absorb illegal aliens as cheap labor, with the potential for large voting blocs, and a means to eliminate America's middle class.
Although denounced by politicians in the nation's capital - including President Bush - Minuteman Project volunteers have been praised by overworked Border Patrol agents for their efforts, adhering to a strict policy of nonviolent protest. The group's objection to illegal aliens does not have its basis in racial or ethnic discrimination, but in justice as defined by our nation's law.
No matter how you cut the cards, those entering our borders without going through established channels are committing a crime. Those individuals live here illegally, yet are sheltered by our social, educational, and legal services against prosecution, let alone deportation consequences. In some ways, it is more advantageous to be an illegal resident than an immigrant who has entered legally and become a citizen. (Illegal aliens don't pay taxes, or for medical services or school tuitions, and the list goes on. Yet in some states, citizens who deny illegal aliens access are instead prosecuted.)
"Illegal immigration is bankrupting states along the border, but this is about more than economics - we're placing our national security at risk," said Gilchrist, who along with other Minuteman Project volunteers has come under fire while on patrol and carrying nothing more than binoculars and cell phones.
The Illinois Minutemen Project is reaching out to Quad Cities residents with a presentation on Friday, March 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rock Island VFW on Ninth Street in an effort to start a local chapter. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend, learn, and hopefully participate in holding elected officials accountable to the laws of our land.
